Vitamin D Deficiency Is Common in Ghana despite Abundance of Sunlight: A Multicentre Comparative Cross-Sectional Study
Background. Vitamin D is a steroid hormone important for the normal functioning of the body. It is produced through skin exposure to sunlight and from the diet. Although Ghana is located in the tropics where sunlight is abundant, factors like culture, diet, skin pigmentation, variation in the ozone...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Wiley
2021-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/9987141 |
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| author | Samuel Asamoah Sakyi Maxwell Hubert Antwi Linda Ahenkorah Fondjo Edwin Ferguson Laing Richard K. Dadzie Ephraim Alexander Kwarteng Benjamin Amoani Seth Christopher Appiah Bright Oppong Afranie Stephen Opoku Tonnies Abeku Buckman |
| author_facet | Samuel Asamoah Sakyi Maxwell Hubert Antwi Linda Ahenkorah Fondjo Edwin Ferguson Laing Richard K. Dadzie Ephraim Alexander Kwarteng Benjamin Amoani Seth Christopher Appiah Bright Oppong Afranie Stephen Opoku Tonnies Abeku Buckman |
| author_sort | Samuel Asamoah Sakyi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background. Vitamin D is a steroid hormone important for the normal functioning of the body. It is produced through skin exposure to sunlight and from the diet. Although Ghana is located in the tropics where sunlight is abundant, factors like culture, diet, skin pigmentation, variation in the ozone layer, and geographical area influence the optimization of vitamin D concentration. It is imperative to evaluate the interplay between sunshine exposure, proinflammatory cytokines, and mediators of vitamin D metabolism and their relationship to vitamin D status in three geographical sections among apparent healthy Ghanaians. Methods and Results. In a cross-sectional study, a total of five hundred (500) healthy blood donors from three geographical areas in Ghana were enrolled. Their age ranged from 17 to 55 years with a mean age of 27.97 ± 8.87 years. The overall prevalence rate of vitamin D deficiency was 43.6% (218/500), with 41.2% (91/221), 45.3% (63/139), and 45.7% (64/140) of vitamin D deficiency being recorded in participants from the Northern Sector (NS), Middle Belt (MB), and Southern Sector (SS), respectively. However, there were no significant differences in the proportions of vitamin D deficiency across various geographical sectors. The median 25-hydroxyvitamin D serum levels were compared among geographical areas (NS, MB, and SS) and there were no significant differences (P=0.275) after adjusting for confounding factors. 25-Hydroxyvitamin D correlated positively with corrected ionized calcium (rs = 0.622, P≤0.001) and phosphorus (rs = 0.299, P≤0.001) and negatively correlated with SBP (rs = −0.092, P=0.039), vitamin D binding protein (VDBP) (rs = −0.421, P≤0.001), intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) (rs = −0.0568, rs ≤ 0.001), IFN-gamma (rs = −0.684, P≤0.001), and TNF-alpha (rs = −0.600, P≤0.001). After adjusting for possible confounders, not having knowledge about vitamin D foods, taking fewer vitamin D foods, and higher levels of IF-γ and IL-10 were associated with a higher risk of having vitamin D deficiency. Conclusion. The prevalence of 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency is high among the general adult population in Ghana despite the abundance of sunlight. Increasing knowledge on vitamin D diet coupled with a daily intake of vitamin D dietary supplements is likely to reduce the risk of developing 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0667bef0fdce40fb85f00f84cf17461b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2090-0724 2090-0732 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2021-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
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| series | Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism |
| spelling | doaj-art-0667bef0fdce40fb85f00f84cf17461b2025-08-20T03:55:23ZengWileyJournal of Nutrition and Metabolism2090-07242090-07322021-01-01202110.1155/2021/99871419987141Vitamin D Deficiency Is Common in Ghana despite Abundance of Sunlight: A Multicentre Comparative Cross-Sectional StudySamuel Asamoah Sakyi0Maxwell Hubert Antwi1Linda Ahenkorah Fondjo2Edwin Ferguson Laing3Richard K. Dadzie Ephraim4Alexander Kwarteng5Benjamin Amoani6Seth Christopher Appiah7Bright Oppong Afranie8Stephen Opoku9Tonnies Abeku Buckman10Department of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Allied Health, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, GhanaDepartment of Biochemistry and Biotechnology, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Biomedical Science, School of Allied Health Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, GhanaCenter for International Health, University of Munich Medical, Ludwig-Maimillians Universitate of Munchen, Munchen, GermanyDepartment of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Medical Diagnostics, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaDepartment of Molecular Medicine, School of Medicine and Dentistry, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, GhanaBackground. Vitamin D is a steroid hormone important for the normal functioning of the body. It is produced through skin exposure to sunlight and from the diet. Although Ghana is located in the tropics where sunlight is abundant, factors like culture, diet, skin pigmentation, variation in the ozone layer, and geographical area influence the optimization of vitamin D concentration. It is imperative to evaluate the interplay between sunshine exposure, proinflammatory cytokines, and mediators of vitamin D metabolism and their relationship to vitamin D status in three geographical sections among apparent healthy Ghanaians. Methods and Results. In a cross-sectional study, a total of five hundred (500) healthy blood donors from three geographical areas in Ghana were enrolled. Their age ranged from 17 to 55 years with a mean age of 27.97 ± 8.87 years. The overall prevalence rate of vitamin D deficiency was 43.6% (218/500), with 41.2% (91/221), 45.3% (63/139), and 45.7% (64/140) of vitamin D deficiency being recorded in participants from the Northern Sector (NS), Middle Belt (MB), and Southern Sector (SS), respectively. However, there were no significant differences in the proportions of vitamin D deficiency across various geographical sectors. The median 25-hydroxyvitamin D serum levels were compared among geographical areas (NS, MB, and SS) and there were no significant differences (P=0.275) after adjusting for confounding factors. 25-Hydroxyvitamin D correlated positively with corrected ionized calcium (rs = 0.622, P≤0.001) and phosphorus (rs = 0.299, P≤0.001) and negatively correlated with SBP (rs = −0.092, P=0.039), vitamin D binding protein (VDBP) (rs = −0.421, P≤0.001), intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) (rs = −0.0568, rs ≤ 0.001), IFN-gamma (rs = −0.684, P≤0.001), and TNF-alpha (rs = −0.600, P≤0.001). After adjusting for possible confounders, not having knowledge about vitamin D foods, taking fewer vitamin D foods, and higher levels of IF-γ and IL-10 were associated with a higher risk of having vitamin D deficiency. Conclusion. The prevalence of 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency is high among the general adult population in Ghana despite the abundance of sunlight. Increasing knowledge on vitamin D diet coupled with a daily intake of vitamin D dietary supplements is likely to reduce the risk of developing 25-hydroxyvitamin D deficiency.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/9987141 |
| spellingShingle | Samuel Asamoah Sakyi Maxwell Hubert Antwi Linda Ahenkorah Fondjo Edwin Ferguson Laing Richard K. Dadzie Ephraim Alexander Kwarteng Benjamin Amoani Seth Christopher Appiah Bright Oppong Afranie Stephen Opoku Tonnies Abeku Buckman Vitamin D Deficiency Is Common in Ghana despite Abundance of Sunlight: A Multicentre Comparative Cross-Sectional Study Journal of Nutrition and Metabolism |
| title | Vitamin D Deficiency Is Common in Ghana despite Abundance of Sunlight: A Multicentre Comparative Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_full | Vitamin D Deficiency Is Common in Ghana despite Abundance of Sunlight: A Multicentre Comparative Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_fullStr | Vitamin D Deficiency Is Common in Ghana despite Abundance of Sunlight: A Multicentre Comparative Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Vitamin D Deficiency Is Common in Ghana despite Abundance of Sunlight: A Multicentre Comparative Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_short | Vitamin D Deficiency Is Common in Ghana despite Abundance of Sunlight: A Multicentre Comparative Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_sort | vitamin d deficiency is common in ghana despite abundance of sunlight a multicentre comparative cross sectional study |
| url | http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2021/9987141 |
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